The Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Edgardo Riveros, received the French Ambassador Caroline Dumas in an audience today. She is ending her mission in Chile and will return home to assume new responsibilities.

In this context, the Undersecretary offered a luncheon in her honour, at which time she highlighted the close and historical links between the two nations. In this regard, she said that we share a relationship of great trust, solidarity and friendship with France, which Ambassador Dumas has been able to enrich by making numerous commitments during her tenure. This has been a faithful reflection of the intensity of the bilateral agenda, where President Hollande's visit was highlighted, and the central axis was the launching of the Year of Innovation Chile-France and the holding of two political consultations at the level of undersecretaries during this government.

In addition, Undersecretary Riveros stressed the importance of the French Government's support for the process of modernisation of the Chile-EU Association Agreement, with respect to which we are now ad-portas of the second round of negotiations in its area of Political Dialogue and Cooperation. He also referred to the major French investments in our country in various fields, such as energy, innovation and public works.

Ambassador Dumas, at the same time she thanked Undersecretary Riveros for her warm farewell, underlined the multilateral aspect of Chile's foreign policy, an element that has allowed us to share common interests and seek solutions, jointly, in matters of great relevance on the international scene, such as climate change, ocean governance, chemical weapons, along with the United Nations peace forces, among others.